Oil burner unit



Oct. 19, 1937. s LAUGHUN E AL Re.20,536

OIL BURNER UNIT 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed Jan. 25; 1927 6H0 new 5m n m 3 OIL BURNER UNI T S. L. LAUGHLIN ET AL Original Filed Jan. 25,192' 3 9 1 9 l L C O /MM IW 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 S. L LAUGHLIN ET AL OILBURNER UNIT Original Filed Jan. 25, 1927 Oct. 19, 1937f art {muted f g Mawn";

s L. LAUGHLIN ET AL R 20,536

OIL BURNER UNIT.

Original Filed Jan. 25, 1927 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 I gnw'nlfou attozmqReissued Oct. 19, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE OIL BURNER UNITSamuel L. Laughlin, Herman F. Braun, and William J. Smith, Cleveland,Ohio, assignors to Cleveland Steel Products Corporation, Cleveland,Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Original No. 1,655,016, dated January 3,1928,

Serial No. 163,352, January 25, 1927. Application for reissue February20, 1929, Serial No.

26 Claims.

This invention relates to oil burners and is directed more particularlyto oil burning units which are designed for use in connection withhousehold furnaces.

The main object of the invention is to provide a burner unit of thecharacter described which may be easily and quickly installed in theaverage household furnace and which shall be capable of effectivelyreplacing the use of coal, gas or otherfuels commonly used for heatingpurposes.

Another object of the invention is to provide a burner unit wherein thefuel oil is atomized by a rotary atomizing nozzle and which will effectan eflicient mixture of air and atomized oil.

Another object of the invention is to provide a burner unit system ofthe character described which shall be entirely automatic in itsoperation and which is Well adapted for use in connection with standardmakes of thermostatic controls which are now on the market.

Another object of the invention is to provide a burner unit of thecharacter described which is provided with means for cutting off thesupply of fuel and discontinuing the operation of the motor should thefire fail to ignite or go out.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a noveland simpleform of burner unit which comprises comparatively few parts and which iseasily assembled and disassembled and which is part of thisspecification, Fig. 1 is a View in front elevation of our improvedburner unit connected with the household furnace of the usual type; Fig.2 is a view partly in vertical section and partly in side elevation ofour improved burner and showing the upper end of the burner positionedwithin the firebox of the furnace; Fig. 3 is a view partly in verticalsection and partly in front elevation disclosing the fuel supply meansand the manner of securing the several parts to-' gether; Fig. 4 is ahorizontal sectional view on the line 44 of Fig. 3; and Fig. 5 is ahorizontal sectional view on the line 55 of Fig. 3.

Referring now to Fig. -1 of the drawings, the

numeral I designates a furnace in which is positioned our burner unitdesignated generally by the reference character 2. Positioned preferablyin close proximity to the furnace is a tank 3 adapted to contain thesource of fuel supply. Leading from the tank 3 is a valve controlledfuel supply pipe 4 which is connected with an oil regulator 5 sopositioned with respect to the burner as to provide a constant head forthe fuel. Connected .with the oil regulator 5 is a pipe 6 which leads toan oil strainer 'l which removes foreign matter from the oil andconnected with the opposite side of the oil strainer l is a pipe 8having a needle valve 9 therein and also a solenoid valve the purpose ofwhich will hereinafter appear. Leading from the oil valve I0 is a pipell, having a valve I2 therein which connects with the lower end of theburner in a manner to be hereinafter set forth. The numeral 13designates a gas supply pipe which is provided with a solenoid gascontrol valve H which is normally held in closed position and connects'with a pilot burner I5. The valves II) and I4 are adapted to be openedby anysuitable means either electrical or mechanical which automaticallycontrol the position of the valves. The valve I4 is never entirely outoff but always allows sufficient gas to flow to keep the pilot Iburning. It will be noted that there are three valves in the oil supplyline, namely: the needle valve 9, the automatic valve I 0 and the valvel2. The valve I2 is in the nature of a safety valve and is automaticallyclosed when the overflow or trip bucket I8 becomes sufliciently filledwith oil to depress the pivotally mounted lever l8 to close the valve.

Referring now to Fig. 3 the burner unit proper comprises an annularcasting H! which is supported by means of a plurality of adjustable legs20, 2| and 22 so that the height of the same may be adjusted. Carried bythe legs 20, 2| and 22 is an electric motor 23 having a hollow shaft 24which projects upwardly through an opening in the casting l9. Detachablysecured to the upper end of the hollow shaft 24 is a distributing head25 having a bore 25 therein which is in open communication with aplurality of tubes 21. Secured to the upper end of the distributing head25 is a fan member 28 which is preferably formed from a single piece ofheat resisting sheet metal and provided with a plurality of blades 2 9on the periphery thereof and a plurality of blades 30 on the bottom sidethereof. The annular casting I9 is shaped in section as shown mostclearly in Fig. 3' and around its periphery is provided with a pluralityof ports 3| which serve as air inlets.

Secured over the top of the annular casting I9 is an annular plate 32which is provided with a plurality of ports 33. The annular member 32may be adjusted with respect to the casting I9 to vary the size of theports 3| and is secured in adjusted position by means of a set screw 34.The top of the casting I9 is somewhat funnel shaped and is provided witha plurality of openings 35. Fitting over the top of the casting I9 is aplate 36 provided with a plurality of openings 31 adapted to be broughtinto alignment with the openings 35. The plate 31 may be adjusted withrespect to the top of the casting to vary the size of the inlet opening35 and is secured in adjusted position by set screws 38.

Secured to the lower end of the motor is a hollow casting -39 forming achamber to the lower end of which the fuel supply pipe I I is connected(see Fig. l) The shaft 24 projects downwardly into chamber 39 andsecured to the lower end of the shaft by means of a set screw 40 is athreaded sleeve or rotor M, the purpose of which will hereinafterappear. Connected with the upper end of the chamber 39 is a T 42 (seeFig. 1)

and supported on the upper end of the motor 23 is an annular drip pan 43which is adapted to receive any oil which may drip from the firebox. Thepan 43 is connected with the T 42 by means of a pipe 44 and alsoconnected with the T 42 is a pipe 45 leading to the trip bucket I8, thepurpose of which will also hereinafter appear. The casting I9 is alsoprovided with a plurality of ports 46 which serve to deliver into thedrip pan 43 any oil which may escape into the firebox. Thecasting I9 isalso provided with a plurality of openings 41 which serve to deliverinto the drip pan 43 any oil which may seep past the refractory material48 around the casting I9.

The valves I9 and I4 are normally closed and are opened by means ofsolenoids, the circuits to which are controlled by the protecto-relayI1. The protecto-relay I1 is in circuit with the protectostat I6 andalso the room thermostat or thermostats form no part'of this invention.Controls of this character may be purchased on the open market and areadapted for connection with any standard burner unit. Our device is alsoadapted for use with a mechanical control unit for controlling the motorand the oil and gas valves. Mechanical control units for burner units ofthis type may also be purchased on the open market.

Assuming that it is desired to start the fur nace and deliver heat tothe rooms to be heated,

the fuel supply valve 4' is opened and a manually operated switch on theprotecto-relay I1 is moved to close the circuit to the motor 23. Thefuel now flows through the pipe 4, valve 4, oil regulator 5, pipe 6,strainer 1, pipe 8, valve 9, valve II), which is held open by the relay,valve I2 which is now open, and thence through pipe II into the bottomof the chamber 39. Theswitch to the motor having been closed the samewillbe in operation and the shaft 23 will be rotating and with itnecessarily the rotor 4|. As the rotor 4| is rotating the fuel cannotflow past the threads in the same and will necessarily flow up thehollow shaft 24 and be delivered through the oil distributing head andtubes 21.' when the motor is started the gas expanding valve isautomatically actuated to expand the pilot flame and the fuel deliveredthrough the tubes 21 will be atomized and mixed with air and ignited bythe' coming in contact with expanded pilot flame. As soon as sufiicientheat is generated within the the fuel will flow into the bottom ofchamber 39 and past the screw threaded rotor M and fill the casting I9as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 3.

- flame is obtained. The simplicity of the burner and we wish ourinvention to be limited only in claims.

firebox the protectostat I 6 on the furnace door will be actuated tobreak a circuit to allow the valve I4 to return to its former positionand the gas supply will be cut down and only sufficient gas will beadmitted through the valve I4 to keep the pilot flame burning. The motorwill continue running and the burner will be supplied with oil throughthe pipe II and the hollow shaft 24. When the temperature is in theroomto be heated reaches a predetermined point the ther- 'mostat thereinwill be actuated to cut off the supply of current to the motor and thevalve I0 will be allowed to close to cut off the supply of fuel. Whenthe temperature in the room to be heated falls to a predetermined pointthe protecto-relay I1 will again open the valve II), close the circuitto the motor 23 and expand the pilot flame by opening the valve I4. Thefuel will again become ignited and the burner continue in operationuntil the thermostat in the room to be heated is again actuated torepeat the cycle of operation. Should the fuel fail to ignite when themotor is started, the oil will flow down through the ports 46 into thepan 43 and thence through pipe 44, T 42, pipe 45 and fill the bucket I9which will actuate lever I9 to close the valve I2 and out off the supplyof fuel. Should the motor 23 fail to start at the proper time or forsome reason stop,

chamber 39 and overflow through the T 42 and pipe 45 and be deliveredinto the bucket l8 which will close valve I2 and cut off the supply offuel.

One of the main features of our invention is the fan member 28 which ispreferably formed from a single piece of heat resisting metal. From aninspection of Fig. 3 it will be seen that the fan blades 29 projectdownwardly below the delivery end of the distributer tubes 21 so thatwhen the motor is running air for supporting combustion will be drawn inthrough the openings in the The result obtained is that there will be alayer of atomized fuel delivered between two layers of air. Thisconstruction provides for a very efficient mixture of air and atomizedoil and results in an extremely hot flame disposed around the entireperiphery of the firebox. The plates 33 and 36 may be adjusted to effecta proper mixture of air and atomized oil so that a very eflicient unitand the ease with which it may be assembled and disassembled will adaptthe same for the purpose for which it is intended.

It will now be clear that we have provided a burner unit which willoperate under all conditions and which will automatically cut ofi thesupply of oil should the burner fail to ignite or the motor fail tostart for any reason. Various changes may be made in our constructionwithout departing from the spirit of our invention accordance with thescope of thc appended Having thus described our invention, what we claimis:-

1. A burner unit of the class described comprising a frame a castingsupported by said frame and adapted to be positioned beneath afirebox ofa furnace, said casting having an annular depending portion having aplurality of openings therein and being provided with an opening in thetop thereof, a motor carried by said frame and having a hollow shaftprojecting into the top of said casting, a distributing head carried bysaid 20,530 shaft and a fan carriedby said distributing head,

- 2. A burner unit of the class described comprising a frame, a castingsupported by said frame and "adapted to be positioned .within an openingin a firebox, a plurality of'air inlet openings in said casting, a motorcarried by said frame and having a hollow shaft projecting upwardlythrough said casting, a distributing head rigidl secured to said hollowshaft and having a plural ity of discharge tubes disposed in opencommunication with the said hollow shaft, and a fan member rigidlysecured to said distributing head .and having a plurality of fan bladesformed thereon and extending downwardly past the delivery end of saiddistributing tubes and means for varying the size of said air inletopenings.

3. A burner unit of the class described comprising a vertical rotary,hollow shaft, a distributing head secured to said hollow shaft, a casingsurrounding the lower end of said shaft and having-an overflow openingtherein, a liquid fuel supply pipe connected withsaid casing, a memberdisposed within said casing and nonrotatably secured to said shaft, saidmember closely fitting within said casing and having a bore thereinconnecting the interior of said cas- -ing with the interior of saidhollow shaft, the

periphery of said member being threaded and the pitch of the threadsbeing such that when said shaft is rotated in one direction the fuelwill be forced into said hollow shaft, said member being positionedbetween said supply pipe and said overflow opening.

4. In a burner unit of the class described, the

combination of a distributing head, a rotary-hollow shaft connected withsaid distributing head and depending therefrom, a casing surrounding thelower end of said hollow shaft and having an overflow opening therein, aliquid fuel supply pipe leading into said distributing head, a memberdisposed within said casing and non-rotatably secured to said shaft,said member closely fitting within said casing and serving to force theliquid fuel into said hollow shaft when rotated in one direction andpermitting the liquid fuel to flow through said casing and overflowopening when portion provided with openings therein for passage of airtherethrough, means associated with said casting for regulating theamount of air passing through saidopenings, a motor carried by saidframe'and having a hollow shaft projecting through the top portion ofsaid casting, a distributing head carried by saidshaft and a fan carriedbysaid distributing head, said distributing head having'a 'plurality ofoutwardly directed dischargepassages leading from and in opencommunication with said hollow shaft, the blades of said fan extendingabove, below and v radially beyond the discharge end of said pas-=sages, and means for supplying liquid fuel to said distributing head. 6.A burner unit of the class described com- I prising a motor having avertical hollow shaft,

a distributing headrigidlv secured to said hollow shaft, a chamberconnectedwith the lower end of said motor and in which the lower end ofsaid hollow shaft is disposed, a supply pipe for delivering liquid fuelto the lower end of said chamber, a member non-rotatably connected bysaid frame and adapted to be positioned in the fire box of a furnace,said casting having' openings in the upper portion thereof,for thepassage of air, a hollow Shaft projecting through the top of saidcasting, a fuel distributing head on the upper end of said shaft, saidhead having a plurality of discharge tubes projecting therefrom andadapted to discharge the fuel above the top of said casting, a fanmember rigidly secured to said distributing head, said fan comprising acircular top portion and a downwardly extending cylindrical peripheralwall portion, the cylindrical portion extending downwardly beyond theend of said discharge tubes, said cylindrical portion including aplurality of fan blades between which the' oil is expelled from saidtubes in the form ofseparate jets.

8. A burner unit including a hollow casting provided with a downwardlyconcave upper wall,

said casting being adapted to project through the bottom wall of afirebox of a heater, a distributing head extending through said concaveupper wall, means for rotating said head, said head including radiallyextending tubes, means for supplying liquid fuel tosaid tubes, saidcasting having air inlet openings therein, said openmeans for rotatingsaid head, said head including radially extending tubes, means forsupplying liquid fuel to said tubes, said casting having air inletopenings therein, said openings being adjustable in size, said headcarrying a fan, and said unit including means whereby said. fan drawsair through said openings into mixing relation with liquid fuel fromsaid tubes, said openings being in said concave upper wall.

10. In a burner unit of the class described, the combination of adistributing head, a hollow shaft connected with said distributing headand depending therefrom, a casing surrounding the lower end of saidhollow shaft and having an overflow opening therein, a liquid fuelsupply pipe leading into said casing, a member disposed within saidcasing and non-rotatably secured to said shaft, said member closelyfitting within said casing and 'serving to force the liquid fuel intosaid hollow shaft when-rotated in one direction and permitting theliquid fuel to flow through said casing and overflow opening when theshaft "11. A fuel and air distributing unit forheaters wherein a fuelmixture is discharged against an annular refractory member nearthe wallsof the heater, comprising an annular member extend-' ible into the firebox of the heater, an electric motor having a hollow shaft disposedcoaxially with said annular member, a head mounted on said hollow shaft,a plurality of fuel discharge tubes extending radially from said head todischarge fuel in a plane above said annular member, said head having apassageway interconnecting said tubes and hollow shaft, a plate carriedby said head above said tubes, a plurality of fan blades mounted at theunder side of said plate to draw air through. said annular member duringrotation of said head, said plate serving to deflect the air outwardlyin the direction of flow of fuelfrom said tubes, means for regulatingthe flow of air through said annular member, and means for directingfuel into said hollow shaft.

12. A fuel and air distributing unit for liquid fuel burners of therotary type, comprising a centrifugal fuel and air distributing head, avertical hollow shaft for feeding fuel to said head, an electric motorfor rotating said head, said shaft'extending axially through the rotorof said motor and projecting below said motor, a cylindrical casingsurrounding the projecting end of said shaft, and a cylindrical.elementrigidly secured to the lower end of said hollow shaft and beingclosely fitted within said casing, said element having narrow spiralgrooves in the circum-' ferential face thereof spiralling in thedirection opposite to the direction of rotation of saidshaft to preventpassage of fuel between said element and casing during rotation of saidshaft, and the lower end of said element having an opening thereincommunicating with said hollow shaft andwith theinterior of said casing.I

13. The combination with a furnace having a combustion chamber, a hearthclosing in the bottom of said chamber and a substantially endlessrefractory element extending above said hearth near the walls of saidcombustion chamber, said hearth having a central opening therein, of anair inlet casing mounted within said opening, a vertical shaft extendingwithin said casing, a motor for rotating said shaft, a head mounted onthe upper end of said shaft for rotation therewith for discharging anoil and air mixture across said-combustion chamber and against saidrefractory element, said head including an oil receiving element havingradially arranged discharge conduits in direct and positivecommuhication therewith, said conduits being disposed above the plane ofsaid hearth, a plurality of fan blades disposed between said conduitsand extending inwardly from the region of the outlet ends of saidconduits towards the axis of said head for drawing air upwardly throughsaid casing anda disk disposed above said discharge conduits and fanblades for directing the air drawn upwardly by said blades into the oilbeing discharged from said discharge conduits, means for feeding oil tosaid oil receiving element, and controllable means for regulating thepassage of air through said air inlet casing.

14. Oil burning apparatus for furnaces having a combustion chamber 'anda hearth closing the lower end of said chamber and including anupstanding substantially endless refractory element near the walls ofsaid chamber, comprising an air inlet casing extending centrally throughsaid hearth, means for regulating the flow of air through said casing, arotary fuel and air projector, and power means for rotating saidprojector, said rotary projector including an oil receiving chamber,aplurality'of oil discharge ,of a furnace for combustion, comprising averticonduits extending radially above; said casing and having directand positive communication with said oil receiving chamber, means forintroducing oil into said oil receiving chamber, a plurality of fanblades between said conduits and a disk disposed in a 'plane above saidblades and oil discharge conduits and projecting radially beyond theends of said conduits for directing the air flowing through said casingduring rotation of said projector into mixing relation with the oildischarged from said conduits, whereby an atomized mixture isdistributed from a central region in said combustion chamber outwardlybelow the products of combustion and thrown against said endlessrefractory element where it is vaporized and burned in the form of anendless ring of flame substantially at the walls of said combustionchamber.

15. A burner unit including a centrifugal distributing head rotatablymounted with respect. to a furnace, said head including radial fuelsupply tubes', a fan element fixed to said head and having vanesextending above and below the delivery ends of said tubes and beingdisposed radially outside said ends.

16. In a burner structure, the combination with a rotatable headprovided with means for emitting jets of liquid hydrocarbon fuel, of adepending baflie structure comprising blades associated with said headdisposed in the path of said jets and adapted both to atomize said jetsand to admix air for combustion therewith, and means for rotating saidhead. i

17. In a burner structure, the combination with a rotatable burner headprovided with means forv emitting streams of liquid hydrocarbon fuel, ofa depending baiiie structure disposed about the periphery of said head,comprising a plurality of blades disposed in substantialy verticalplanes slightly inclined to the radii of said head, said blades being inthe path of said streams and adapted to admix air therewith, and powermeans for rotating said head.

18. In a burner structure; the combination with a rotatable headprovided with means for emitting streams of liquid hydrocarbon fuel, ofa capplatelsecured to said head having blades secured to said head aboutthe periphery of said cap-plate in planes substantially at right anglesto the plane of said cap-plate, said planes being slightly inclined tothe radii of said cap-plate, said blades depending from said cap-plateand arranged both to atomize by impact said streams of fuel and to impelair for combustion, and power means for rotating said head.

19. A fuel and air distributing unit for furnaces of the type whereinair and oil are discharged outwardly above a' hearth and thrown intocontact with an annular member located adjacent the inner wall of thefurnace combustion chamber, comprising a horizontally rotatable headhaving a liquid fuel receiving portion, a plurality of radiallyextending tubes connected with said portion for discharging jets ofliquid fuel, a plate-like member disposed above said tubes, and aplurality of fan blades associated with said deflecting member fordischarging air outwardly in the direction of travel "of the oil issuingfrom said tubes, means for regulating the amount of air, and power meansfor rotating said head.

20. A fuel and air distributing unit for liquid fuel burners of therotary type wherein fuel is discharged against a peripheral-hearthmember cally arranged annular member extendible into the combustionchamber of the furnace, a rotatable distributing head coaxial with saidannular member and having a plurality of generally radial dischargepassages disposed to dismember to regulate the flow of air therethrough,l

and means for rotating said head.

21. A fuel and air distributing unit for furnaces of the type whereinair and oil are discharged outwardly above a hearth and. thrown intocontact with an annular member located adjacent the inner wall of thefurnace combustion chamber, comprising a horizontally rotatable headhaving a liquid fuel receiving portion, a plurality of radiallyextending tubes connected with said portion for discharging jets ofliquid fuel, a plate-like member disposed above said tubes, and aplurality of fan blades associated with said deflecting member fordischarging air outwardly in the direction of travel of the oil issuingfrom said tubes, and power means for rotating said head.

22. In a burner structure, a rotatable fuel and air distributing unithaving its axis vertically arranged and having an oil receiving portion,a plurality of radially extending tubes for receiving oil from saidportion and discharging the'same in a generally horizontal direction,and an air deflecting member. above said tubes, said deflecting memberhaving a plurality of spaced fan blades extending downwardly from theperiphery 'thereof and inclined slightly with respect to the chargingthe oil in a generally horizontal direction, and an air deflectingmember disposed above said tubes, said deflecting member having adownwardly extending peripheral flange, said flange having a number ofspaced fan blades therein, said structure including means for Sunplyingoil to said receiving portion, and means for rotating said head.

24. A burner unit including an annular casing adapted to project throughthe bottom wall of a firebox of a heater, a distributing head extendingthrough said casing, means for rotating said head, said head includingradially extending tubes, and means for supplying liquid fuel 'to saidtubes, said casing having means providing air inlet openings, saidopenings being adjustable in size, said head carrying a fan, said unitincluding means whereby said fan draws air through said openings foroutward flow above said bottom wall in the direction of travel of thefuel issuing from said tubes.

25. A burner unit including an annular casing adapted to project throughthe bottom wall of a firebox of a furnace. a distributing head extendingthrough said casing and including radially extending fuel dischargetubes and a fan, means for supplying liquid fuel to said tubes, andmeans for rotating said head, said casing having means providing airinlet openings and means for adjusting the size of said openings, saidunit including means whereby said fan draws air through said openingsand for causing a portion of said air to flow directly around and pastsaid tubes and a portion to flow outwardly directly below the outlets ofsaid tubes.

26-. A burner unit including a casing adapted to project through thebottom wall of a furnace flrebox, a horizontally rotatable distributinghead extending through said casing and having radially extending fueldischarge tubes and. a plurality of fan blades disposable above thelevel of said bottom wall for drawing air through said casing, means forsupplying liquid fuel to said tubes, and means for rotating said head,said head including a deflecting member disposed above said tubes andblades for causing a portion of the air drawn through said casing toflow directly around and outwardly past said tubes and a portion to flowoutwardly below. the outlet ends of said tubes.

